Rafael Nadal Crashes Out Of Monte-Carlo, Djokovic and Federer Survive By Ricky Dimon

Written by: Staff on 18th April 2014

Monte Carlo Masters in Roquebrune Cap Martin

Rafael Nadal Crashes Out Of Monte-Carlo, Djokovic and Federer Survive By Ricky Dimon

epa04171472 Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Jo Wilfried Tsonga of France during their quarter final match at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters tournament in Roquebrune Cap Martin, France, 18 April 2014. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER |

David Ferrer beat Rafael Nadal for the sixth time in 27 tries and ended a 17-match losing streak on clay to the world No. 1 with a 7-6(1), 6-4 upset in the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Friday afternoon.

Ferrer played with a lead almost the entire match, but he gave back service breaks on three different occasions–twice in the first set and again while trying to close out the match at 5-2 in the second. The world No. 6, who won seven straight points in the opening tiebreaker after trailing 1-0, finished the match on his second time of asking at 5-4.

“It is special,” said Ferrer. “Last time I beat Rafael on a clay court was 10 years ago. I had to wait 10 years to beat him on a clay court. I am happy because I am in the semifinal and because I am playing very good this week. Maybe this week, it was my best week of the season.”

Of course, what Ferrer means is that this is his best week of the season. It’s still going on, and there is reason to think his success may not end anytime soon. Ferrer is 7-5 lifetime against Saturday opponent Stanislas Wawrinka and the other two semifinalists–Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer–struggled in their respective quarterfinals.

Djokovic beat Casablanca champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and Federer pulled away from Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-1.

“Looking back, I can take also some positives out of the match,” the 32-year-old Swiss explained. “It was just many things went wrong at the wrong time for me; Jo playing well, me playing wrong at certain times, wrong shot selections. It was a tough day at the office. I’m happy I found the way to tough it out. The confidence is there. I played well from the baseline. My serve was consistent. I’m very happy that I have this foundation for my game.”

Federer leads the head-to-head series with Djokovic 17-16 heading into Saturday’s showdown. The Serb, though, has won four of their last five matches and 10 of their last 14.

Topics: Federer, Monte Carlo, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

April 18, 2014 at 4:01 pm

Rafael Nadal Crashes Out Of Monte-Carlo, Djokovic and Federer Survive By @RD_Tennistalk – http://t.co/Gar6OhBxwH @rogerfederer @RafaelNadal
RD_Tennistalk says:

April 18, 2014 at 4:12 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: Rafael Nadal Crashes Out Of Monte-Carlo, Djokovic and Federer Survive By @RD_Tennistalk – http://t.co/Gar6OhBxwH @rogerfe…
ikesenmarble says:

April 18, 2014 at 4:44 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: Rafael Nadal Crashes Out Of Monte-Carlo, Djokovic and Federer Survive By @RD_Tennistalk – http://t.co/Gar6OhBxwH @rogerfe…